Europe stocks close lower; drugmakers, oils fall

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index falls 1.3 pct
                                
 * Index rises 4.6 percent over the week 
                                
 * Novo Nordisk pulls pharmas lower on diabetes drug worries
                                
 
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on
Friday, with drugmakers and oils falling, after unemployment and
services sector from the United States provided further evidence
of recession. 
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares fell 1.3 percent to close at 771.60 points. The index
rose 4.6 percent over the week, and is up 19.5 percent from its
lifetime low of March 9.
                                
 The U.S. economy lost 663,000 jobs in March, government data
showed, compared with Reuters forecasts of 650,000. The
unemployment rate is now 8.5 percent, in line with forecasts.
                                
"After the euphoria of the G20, some economic reality has
kicked in," said Philip Lawlor, chief portfolio strategist at
Nomura, in London.
                                
 "We had a good run and some people have decided to lock
profits in.
                                
 "The numbers weren't a huge shock, with the ADP data having
given us a good steer on Wednesday," said David Evans, market
analyst at BetOnMarkets.com. 
                                
 There was worse news to come. Business activity in the U.S.
services sector shrank for a sixth straight month in March,
compared with economists' forecasts for a rise. [ID:nL3950284]
                                
 As European bourses were closing, the Dow Jones <.DJI>, S&P
500 <.SPX> and Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> were down between 0.4
percent and 0.7 percent. 
                                
 European drugmakers were among the biggest losers. 
                                
 Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO> fell 13.7 percent after a U.S.
advisory panel failed to back its experimental diabetes drug
Victoza, or liraglutide, with votes split on whether it was safe
enough to come to the market due to worries over cancer.
[ID:nN02286714]
                                
 AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, Sanofi-Aventis
<SASY.PA>, Novartis <NOVN.VX> and Roche <ROG.VX> were down
between 2.4 percent and 4.6 percent.
                                
 The oil sector also retreated with crude prices <CLc1> down
nearly 3 percent at just over $51 a barrel.
                                
 BP <BP.L>, BG Group <BG.L>, Total <TOTF.PA>, ENI <ENI.MI>,
and Statoil <STL.OL> fell 2.3 percent and 4 percent. 
                                
 
                                
 AUTOS RISE
                                
 Carmakers Daimler <DAIGn.DE>, Peugeot <PEUP.PA> and Renault
<RENA.PA> were among the biggest risers, up between 6.1 percent
and 10.5 percent, after Credit Suisse upgraded the sector to
overweight from market weight.
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index fell 2.3 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> rose 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> fell 1.1 percent.
                                
 Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> added 8.5 percent after the
group said it would cut more jobs and promised a "return to
paying dividends as soon as practicable". [ID:nL3113004]
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 4.9 percent on Thursday after
world leaders agreed to pump $1.1 trillion deal into the global
economy through extra funding for groups like the IMF.
                                
 The index is down 7.3 percent in 2009, after falling 45
percent in 2008, battered by a banking crisis that helped to tip
several major economies into recession.
                                
"There are some green shoots but we're not out of the woods
yet," said Nomura's Lawlor.
 (Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Andrew
Macdonald)